Odisha, Telangana Plan To Replicate Tirupur’s Success In Garments Sector

Industry news

Odisha, Telangana Plan To Replicate Tirupur’s Success In Garments Sector

The Tirupur cluster of garment units has caught the attention of states such as Telangana and Odisha, which plan to replicate some of the successes of the textile town. In fact, officials of both the states have appealed to big garment units in Tirupur such as Dollar, Lux and Rupa to invest in their respective states.

Officials from Odisha textile department recently visited Tirupur for first-hand information about the cluster’s successful operation over the years. The Odisha government, which came out with a dedicated apparel policy early this year, has not only sought the help of Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) in drawing up its strategy but also in setting up training and skill development institutes.

Recently, the Odisha government had set up an apparel park near Bhubaneshwar and plans to develop two more such parks in the state, according to sources. Similarly, Telangana IT minister K T Rama Rao has taken a great deal of interest in creating such clusters in the state. He is also believed to have met Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani and sought her help in creating such clusters to capitalise on Telangana’s rich cotton crop cultivation.

The Telangana government has thrown in incentives under its textile policy to woo investments from garment units in Tirupur to set up similar units in the cotton-growing districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, Medak and Khammam. In a related development, the Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) joined hands with the Odisha Skill Development Authority recently to train workers from the state for specific skills required in Tirupur.

The textile industry, the second largest employment generating sector, employs 80 million people in the country. Industry leaders say that for every additional export of US $1 billion, the sector would be able to add four lakh jobs. Companies are hoping that after the Free Trade Agreement with EU, Australia and Canada which is in the works, exports would almost double in three years, from generating lakhs of jobs.

Presently, Tirupur is India’s largest textile exporting hub, which employs six lakh people. Its export turnover is expected to rise from Rs 23,000 crore in 2015 to Rs 25,000 crore in 2016. The knitwear hub is targeting a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2020.